
New housing targets that rebalance housing across Greater Sydney, the Illawarra, the Hunter and Central Coast and regional NSW have been released as the NSW Government announces an incentive scheme to encourage councils to meet these new targets.
The NSW Government announced the first stage of an incentive program for local governments which meet and beat their housing targets.
The NSW Government’s program will reserve $200 million in grants for councils to fund more green space such as parks, sporting facilities and smaller pocket parks, plus maintenance of local streets and footpaths which councils maintain.
This is in addition to support already announced including through reforms to developer contributions of $1 billion over the forward estimates, and up to $700 million per year beyond that.
This funding is reserved by the NSW Government to help fund schools, hospitals and roads to support the population growth that comes with new housing.
An additional $1 billion raised through this contribution will also be directed to local councils over 10 years for housing enabling infrastructure.
NSW Chris Minns said “we’re losing too many young people”.
“This has to change.
“I’ve talked a long time about the need to ensure we have a fairer balance of housing across the state – so housing is built close to already established transport links, schools and hospitals.
“While these targets are required to be released, the government has already acknowledged that they will be difficult to meet.
“That’s why this government is pulling all levers required to reforming planning and setting targets for housing growth, while providing the infrastructure needed to build better communities.”
LGA | New target | LGA | New target | LGA | New Target |
Bayside | 10100 | Hawkesbury | 1300 | Randwick | 4000 |
Blacktown | 21400 | Hornsby | 5500 | Ryde | 11600 |
Blue Mountains | 600 | Hunters Hill |
400 | Strathfield | 3500 |
Burwood | 3300 | Inner West | 7800 | Sutherland Shire | 6000 |
Camden | 10200 | Ku-Ring-Gai | 7600 | The Hills Shire | 23300 |
Campbelltown |
10500 | Lane Cove | 3400 | Waverley | 2400 |
Canada Bay | 5000 | Liverpool | 16700 | Willoughby | 3400 |
Canterbury-Bankstown | 14500 | Mosman | 500 | Wollondilly | 5500 |
Sydney | 18900 | North Sydney |
5900 | Woollahra | 1900 |
Cumberland | 12200 | Northern Beaches | 5900 | Central Coast | 9400 |
Fairfield | 5900 | Parramatta | 19500 | ||
Georges River |
6300 | Penrith | 8400 |
Property Council NSW Executive Director Katie Stevenson said keeping councils accountable for delivery on tougher housing targets will be essential in helping NSW meet its National Housing Accord commitment.
“Targets mean nothing without accountability. It is vital we don’t just tell councils where to aim, but they need to be supported by a robust incentive and penalty regime to bring more clarity, focus and momentum behind collective efforts to deliver NSW’s housing target,” Ms Stevenson said.
“NSW is on the hook to deliver close to 377,000 new homes over the five years of the National Housing Accord – some 75,000 homes per year. In Greater Sydney, housing completions over the 12 months to December 2023 were well below this target at just over 46,000 – the lowest level over any 12-month period since March 2015.
“Added to this, the backlog of DAs still sitting with council or state government for decision requires urgent attention, and the government should fund a program as part of the upcoming State Budget to clear DAs that have been awaiting decision for more than six months,” she said.
In its Pre-Budget Submission, the Property Council of Australia is calling on the NSW Government to establish a Housing Incentive Fund to reward local councils that meet or exceed their housing targets with additional funds for community projects.
“This would give councils who meet housing completion targets access to an incentive-style payment over and above normal funding arrangements, and which streamlines the increasingly complex range of grant funding available to support housing supply,” Ms Stevenson said.
“We’ve also called for a model of “minimum housing targets” and a firmer commitment to deliver on additional housing supply through a red card model, allowing the NSW Government to step in to take planning consent away from councils that consistently fail to meet their targets.
“While many local councils are working tirelessly to deliver on their housing targets, more needs to be done to ensure all councils are delivering their fair share of additional supply as part of a minimum standard expected for local councils,” she said.
“Under a red card model, the government could identify underperforming councils and precincts, and use existing tools available in the planning system to encourage delivery.
“Local councils play a pivotal role in helping NSW meet its housing target. We need effective collaboration between local councils and government, together with robust monitoring, to achieve our housing targets and make housing more affordable,” Ms Stevenson said.